Saturday, January 11, 2014

I know, these don't look super nice and chickpeas in brownies sounds weird. But trust, these are so good. My good friend Juliet first introduced me to the idea of beans in brownies, and I've been experimenting since. I've mainly adapted mine from this recipe, which I told everyone and their dog about. I've been trying to eat less sugar though, because I've been finding that my body really reacts to it and apparently it's super toxic and all that. I've also found that I prefer using chickpeas to black beans or kidney beans, as it results in a fluffier texture. And since it's that post-holiday time where everyone is trying to eat a little bit cleaner, I thought I would share my version of these. Because treats are still (always) a good thing.

Ingredients:

15 Medjool dates, soaked in hot water for ten minutes then drained

3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 eggs (replace with flax seed eggs for vegan version)

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly grease a pan (I used 7 x 11 inch)
3. Pulse the dates with the coconut oil until smooth
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix for a few minutes, scraping down the sides if needed
5. Spoon into pan (it should be a bit thicker than regular brownie batter)
6. Bake for 30 minutes, or until top is dry
7. Let cool before cutting into squares and removing from pan. They are a bit crumbly, so don't skip this step like I always do.

Oh no, hope you don't have that horrible flu that's going around over there! These are really easy to make and really forgiving in terms of substitutions - just throw everything in the blender! Plus, baking always makes me feel better. Hope you get well soon!